Alignment controlling packaging machine



Self 27, l949- A l... L. sALFlsBERG 2,483,155

ALIGNMENT CONTROLLING PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Jan. 16, 1946 Patented Sept. 27, 1949 ALIGNMENT CONTROLLING PACKAGING MACHINE Leroy-L. Salfisberg, South Orange, N. J., assignor to Ivers-Lee Company, Aporation of Delaware Newark, N. J., a corn Application January 16, 1946, Serial N0. 641,569

This invention relates in generai to methods' of and machines for packaging commodities, such as tablets, pellets, powdered or granular substances, etc., wherein layers or strips of packaging material are continuously fed into juxtaposition, the material to be packaged is deposited between the layers, and the layers then are sealed around the commodity to form a compartment in which the commodity is encased, thereby forming a strip or chain of packages which later can be severed singly or in groups.

In many instances one of such layers or strips bears indicia, such as printed matter, a zone of color, a particular design, or the like for each compartment, which itis desired to locate in a predetermined relation to the corresponding compartment, for example in alignment or in register with the compartment.- However, with the presentl packaging machines due to slippage or stretching of the strips of packaging material or other causes, said indicia bearing zones get out oi register with the respective compartments, which detracts from the appearance of and may spoil the package.

One object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved method of and machine for periodically registering or compensating for mis-register of said indicia-bearing zones with their respective compartments.

A specic lobject is to provide novel and improved manually actuated means for controlling thefeeding movement of the packaging material. Y Another object isv to provide apparatus of this kind that is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture and highly eilicient in operation.

lOther objects,` advantages and results of the invention, will be apparent from the following description of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 isv a fragmentary top plan view ot packaging-apparatus embodying my invention.

' Figure 2 is a sectional view of the rollers shown Figure l with the strips of packaging material in normal position therebetween.

Y Figure 3l is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the strips being operated upon bythe alignment `restoring devices.

Figure 4 is a sectional view showing the strip aligning devices in normal or .neutral position.

Figure .5 is a view similar to Figure 4 .but showing thestrip. aligning devices .moved to'y an adiusting position.

Figure 6 .is a fragmentary top plan View of a stripn proper aligned position with the article receiving recessin the, roller, and

'1l Claims.

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6 but showing the strip out of alignment with the recess.

Specically describing the illustrated embodiment of the invention, strips I and 2 of packaging material are fed from any suitable supply of such material. The strip material may lconsist of chlorinated rubber otherwise known as #cellophane or other suitable materials.

The strips pass over idler rollers 3 and 4 past an article feed and depositing mechanism, for example, such as shown in my Patent No. 2,083,617 or my copending application Serial No. 560,306, filed October 25, 1944, now Patent No. 2,420,982, issued May 20, 1947, including a chute 5 to a crimping and sealing mechanism which includes rollers 6 and 'I which frictionally contact with and receive the strips between them. The rollers 6 and 1 are mounted on and rotated in opposite directions by shafts 8 and 9, respectively, journalled in frame members I0 and II and are driven by intermeshing gears I2 from any suitable source of power. The rollers have complemental registering recesses I 3 to provide clearance between them for the tablets I4 between the strips I and 2, the recesses being spaced circumferentially of the rollers. The rollers may have their peripheries between the recesses and on the sides thereof roughened or serrated as shown in my Patent No.- 2,083,617 for transversely crimping or corrugating and pressing together the strips between adjacent articles and along the edges for encasing the tablets and forming the units l5'.

One of the strips, for instance, the strip I is provided on its surface with spaced indicia bearing portions I6 adapted to form one wall of the unit I5 containing the tablet. Such indicia bearing portions are spaced apart a distance correspending. to the distance between the recesses in the roller 6.

The tablets are fed periodically and the rollers are rotated in timed relationship with respect to the movements of the strips and the tablets and with respect to each other in a manner such that the recesses coincide with each other as the rollers are. rotated in opposite directions and so that nor-4 mally a tablet and an indicia bearing portion of strip I are simultaneously received in register with each other between the coinciding recesses.

The presen-t invention contemplates mechanism for restoring the indicia bearing portion of the strip I to proper relationship or alignment with the tablet received between the. recesses in case said portion gets outV of alignment withsaid tablet as shown in Figure 7 `Referring to Figures l,` 2 kand 3, between thevv recesses Yi301" roller. l.. the

periphery of said roller has transverse slots I1, the base of each slot being straight. The periphery of roller 6 is likewise formed with transverse grooves I8 between the recesses formed thereon. The base of each groove is tapered as shown in Figures 4 and 5. Slidably mounted in each groove I8 is a blade or plate IS. The blade projects beyond the ends of the roller and is substantially triangular in shape with a straight rounded outer edge 20 and a nat tapered inner edge 2i slidable on the tapered base of the groove. The broader end of the blade is notched to form a hook 22.

The mechanism for actuating the blades comprises a disc 23 slidably mounted on shaft 8, the l periphery of which is positioned in the hooked portions 22 of the blades. The blades are yieldingly held on the disc and roller by means of coiled springs 24 encircling the projecting ends ll by a bracket 3l is a knurled nut 32. Turning of the nut will cause rotation and sliding movement of shaft 2S carrying the yoke member 23 along with it which will slide the disc 23 along shaft 8 thereby moving the blades along the grooves and radially of the roller 6 as shown in Figures 4 and 5.

In operating the machine, the blades are positioned with their narrow ends in thegrooves so that their outer edges normally project a short distance outwardly beyond the periphery of the roller S, which is the neutral position. When the operator discovers that the indicia bearing portions of the strip i have become out of alignment in-one direction or the other with the coinciding recesses in the rollers 5 and l as shown in Figure 7, the proper alignment may be restored by turning the nut 32 in the proper direction to move the shaft 29 and thereby move the blades along the grooves I8 and radially outwardly or inwardly of the roller as may be required toward the positions shown in Figure 2 or 3. As the grooves it coincide with the slots il, upon rotation of the rollers 6 and '1, the radial movements of the blades will press or bend the overlapping strips i and 2 into the registering slot l in a loop formation as shown in Figure 3 thereby pulling down more or less on the strips and varying the feed of the strips. This variation may be con` tinued until it is observed that the indicia bearing portions are restored to proper alignment with the recesses in the rollers at which time the shaft 29 is moved back again to return the blades to their normal or neutral position.

Changes and modifications may be made in the method and the machine without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Also it will be understood that the structure of the package may be Widely modified, for example instead of using two strips of packaging material, a single strip folded longitudinally to produce a plurality of layers could be utilized. Furthermore, one of the layers might be opaque while the other is transparent, and the indicia may be placed on either the transparent layer or on the opaque laver to be visible through the transparent layer. -Moreover. suitable automatic Vmeans such'as photo-electric mechanism may be utilized foi' actuating the means for adjusting the layers of packaging material.

What I claim is:

l. A packaging machine including the combination with means for periodically feeding portions of a commodity, of a pair of rotatable rollers to receive between them opposed layers of packaging material at least one of which has indicia-bearing zones and between which each of said commodity portions is deposited normally in Y register with one of said indicia-bearing zones,

and means on said rollers for adjusting said layers Vof packaging material to vary the relationship of said indicia-bearing zones to the respective commodity portions, and means for rotating said rollers simultaneously in opposite directions.

2. A' packaging machine including the combination with means for periodically feeding portions of a commodity, of a pair of rotatable rollers to receive between them opposed layers of packaging material at least one of which has indicia-bearing zones and between which each of said commodity portions is deposited normally in register' with one of said indicia-bearing zones, one of said rollers having a plurality of longitudinal slots spaced circumferentially thereof, and the other roller having a plurality of radially adjustable blades, one to enter each of said slots as said rollers rotate for pressing said layers of packaging material into said slots, whereby to adjust said layers to vary the relationship of said indicia-bearing zones to the respective commodity portions.

3. 'l'he packaging machine as defined in claim 2 with the addition of means for moving said blades including a sldable disc coaxial with the last-named roller, a yoke member having one end connected to said disc and its other end connected to a screw threaded shaft, and an actuating nut on one end of said shaft for moving the same.

` 4. In a packaging machine, means for feeding a commodity, a pair of opposed parallel rotatable rollers for feeding between them strips of packaging material one of which has spaced indiciabearing portions on its surface on opposite sides of said commodity in predetermined relationship with certain cir-cumferentially spaced zones on the peripheries of the rollers, and means for restoring said predetermined relationship in case said relationship is disturbed including members to bend said strips laterally during their feeding movement.

5. In a packaging machine, means for supplying layers of packaging material in spaced opposed relation to each other, means for periodically depositing material to be packaged between said layers, means for sealing said layers together to encase said material and for feeding said layers including a pair of opposed parallel rotatable rollers to receive between them said layers having the material between them, and manually actuated means for adjusting the relationship of said layers and the peripheries of said rollers including blades carried by one of said rollers adapted to press against said layers during their movement.

6. In a packaging machine, means for periodically feeding a commodity, means including opposed parallel rotatable rollers for automatically feeding between them strips of packaging material one of which has spaced indicia-bearing portions on its surface on opposite sides of said commodity feeding line in predetermined re- Number blades press said strips in the corresponding slots as said rollers rotate.

LEROY L. SALFISBERG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in theA le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 2,162,230 Salisberg June 13, 1939 

